JPH09134261A - Image processing control device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To apply various types of processing which are so far applied to every job to plural print jobs as a whole by unifying plural print jobs included in a spooling means into a single print job and transferring this print job to a printer. SOLUTION: The print jobs sent from the host computers 2-1 to 2-3 via a network 4 and an external interface circuit 5 are temporarily stored in a spooling area 8-1 of a hard disk 8. Then the plural print jobs are read out of the area 8-1 and unified into a print job by a unifying means 10-1, and this print job is sent to an image forming device 1 via a printer interface circuit 11. Thus the images are formed by the device 1 and sent to a printer communication part 9. As a result, various types of processing applied to every job can be applied to plural print jobs as a whole.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing control device for controlling the processing of image data from a host computer or the like, and particularly to a page description language (Page).
Description Language: PD below
The present invention relates to an image processing control device and an image processing control method for receiving image data from a host computer or the like in the form of PDL data described in (L).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a PDL from a host computer or the like is used.
In a print system that receives data, processes an image, sends the data to a printer, and forms an image, a print operation is performed for each print job. Generally, a print job is a unit in which a certain user prints a certain document from certain application software on a host computer. The print jobs sent from the host computer were individually printed.

[0003]

In the image processing apparatus of the above-mentioned conventional example, the print jobs sent from the host computer are independently processed for printing, and therefore, there are the following problems.

1) When each print job is printed by the printer, the printer is started and stopped for each print job. Therefore, in the case of a printer having a long start-up time and a long stop-time, the waiting time between jobs is long, which causes a decrease in performance.

2) When the printer connected to the image processing apparatus has a double-sided function capable of forming images on the front and back of one sheet, the pages included in different jobs are
It could not be formed on the front and back of a piece of paper.

3) When the image processing apparatus has a Nin print function capable of printing N pages of images side by side on one sheet of paper, pages included in different jobs are formed side by side on one sheet of paper. I couldn't.

4) When the printer connected to the image processing apparatus has a sort print function for sorting and printing jobs of a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies for each copy or for each page, different jobs are printed. The included pages could not be sorted and printed together.

5) When the printer connected to the image processing apparatus has a sort staple print function for performing a staple on each sorted sheet after sort printing, pages included in different jobs are sorted together. I couldn't print staples.

Further, when a certain user creates one document by dividing it into a plurality of files and prints them individually, the user needs to rearrange them manually.

Furthermore, when a user creates a document using a plurality of applications and prints them individually, the user has to manually rearrange them. For example, this is the case when the first and third pages are created by the text creation software and the second and fourth pages are created by the graphic creation software.

Further, even when a single document is shared by a plurality of users, it is necessary to print them individually, and the user needs to rearrange them manually.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and a plurality of print jobs sent from a computer on the printer side or the server side are combined and regarded as one job. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing control method capable of applying various types of processing applied to a plurality of print jobs as a whole.

[0013]

In order to solve the above problems, an image processing control apparatus and an image processing control method according to the present invention accept a print job, hold the accepted print job, and perform a plurality of spooling processes. Control the printer to combine the above print jobs into one print job, send the combined print jobs to the printer side to form an image, and combine the combined print jobs into one print job. Image processing is performed as a job.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an image forming system including an image processing apparatus 3 and an image forming apparatus 1 for color PDL according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the host computer 2-
1, 2-2, etc. and the image processing apparatus 3 are connected via a network 4. The PDL data sent from the host computer via the network 4 and the external interface circuit 5 is temporarily held in the spool area 8-1 in the hard disk 8 by the CPU 6.
Next, the PDL read from the spool area 8-1
The data is expanded into raster image data and RAM
It is written in the full page image memory 10-1 in the memory 10. The expanded image data is stored in the full page image memory 1
Printer interface circuit 1 read from 0-1
1 is sent to the image forming apparatus 1 to form an image. The program area 8-2 in the hard disk 8 is used to hold the program, which is moved to the work memory area 10-2 in the RAM 10 and the program is executed. A part of the work memory area 10-2 and the work memory area 8-3 in the hard disk 8 are also used as a temporary work area. The printer communication unit 9 is the image forming apparatus 1.
It is for communicating with. Further, 7 is a CPU bus connecting these.

In the present embodiment, the image memory 10-1 has eight RGB (Red, Green, Blue) pixels per pixel.
It has a total of 24 bits and has a capacity of one page of A3 size, and has a capacity of two pages when printing A4 size.

The image forming apparatus 1 in this embodiment is a full-color electrophotographic copying machine, and forms an image on the basis of raster image data 12 of 8 bits for each pixel of RGB, that is, 8 bits for each pixel sent from the image processing apparatus. To do.
However, the image formation is YMCK (Yellow,
(Nte, Cyan, blacK) toners of four colors, that is, RGB to YM inside the image forming apparatus 1.
Conversion to CK is performed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram for explaining the structure of a full-color electrophotographic copying machine which is the image forming apparatus 1. 31 is DF (Document F)
An automatic document feeder called an "eeder". The automatic document feeder is used in many commercially available copiers, so it will not be described in detail. However, it is a device for placing multiple originals and transporting them one by one to the original reading position. is there. A document placed at the document scanning position (not shown)
The image is read by an image reading unit 32 including an optical system (not shown) and a color CCD, converted into RGB image data, and converted to RGB image data by the image processing unit 33 via the switching unit 45.
After being converted into CK data, it is sent to the laser drive unit 34. On the other hand, the image data 12 sent from the image processing device 3 is also YMCK-processed by the image processing unit 33 via the switching unit 45.
After being converted into data, it is sent to the laser drive unit 34.
When the image forming apparatus 1 operates as a copying machine, the switching unit 45 selects the image data 46 from the image reading unit 32, and when it operates as a printer, the image data 12 sent from the image processing apparatus 3 is selected. To be done. The image data sent from the image processing unit 33 is the laser driving unit 34.
Is converted into laser light and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 35. The sheet on which the image is formed is fed from the upper cassette 37 or the lower cassette 39 and wound around the transfer drum 36. Toner is attached to the latent image on the photosensitive drum by a developing device (not shown) to form a visible image, which is transferred to a sheet by the transfer unit 36. This latent image is formed, developed, and transferred by YM.
The YMCK toner is transferred onto the paper by repeating the rotation four times while rotating the transfer drum four times for one paper for each CK. The paper on which the toner is transferred is the fixing device 40.
The toner is melted and fixed there, and a full-color image is formed. The fixed paper is sent to the staple sorter unit 42 during normal printing (the same applies to normal copying. The same applies to the following). Normally, the uppermost paper discharge tray 44-
1 is discharged.

On the other hand, when the front side of double-sided printing is used,
The sheet that has passed through the fixing device 40 is sent to the reversing unit 41, the traveling direction is reversed by the reversing unit 41, and enters the double-sided tray 38. At this time, the front image is on the upper side of the paper. Then, the paper fed from the double-sided tray is printed on the back side in the same route as in normal printing, and is ejected.

Further, in the case of a normal sort print of a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies, each copy sent to the staple sorter unit 42 corresponds to each discharge tray 44-1, 44-2, 44-3.
And output. In short, the output of one copy of a plurality of pages is stacked on each paper discharge tray.

Further, in the case of group sort printing of a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies, each page sent to the staple sorter unit 42 is delivered to each of the sheet discharge trays 44-1, 44-2, 4-4.
It is distributed to 4-3 and output. In short, a plurality of copies of the output are stacked on each paper discharge tray for each page.

The normal sort print and the group sort print are collectively referred to as a sort print. Further, since FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram, only three discharge trays are shown, but in reality, it is composed of 10 trays or 25 trays.

A staple unit 43 is attached to the staple sorter unit 42, and has a function of stapling the sheets stacked on each sheet discharge tray. Usually, this function is used in combination with the sort print function, and is therefore called a staple sort print function. For example, when combined with normal sort printing, stapling is performed for each output of a plurality of pages, and a plurality of parts are obtained.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining PDL data. ADOBE Post Script
PDL (Page De) represented by (registered trademark) language
The scripting language is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), one page image is described by combining elements such as (i) image description by character code, (ii) image description by graphic code, and (iii) image description by raster image data. It is a language, and the data described in it is PDL data.

FIG. 4 (b) shows an example of description by a character code. L100 is a description that specifies the color of the character,
In the parentheses, the luminances of Red, Green, and Blue are shown in order. The minimum is 0.0 and the maximum is 1.0. In L100, the character is specified to be black.
Next, L101 stores the character string “IC” in the variable String1.
Is assigned. Next, in L102, the first and second parameters indicate the x and y coordinates of the start position coordinates on the paper on which the character string is laid out, the third parameter indicates the size of the character, and the fourth parameter indicates the space between the characters. The fifth parameter indicates a character string to be laid out. In short, L102 is from the coordinates (0.0,0.0),
This is an instruction to lay out the character string “IC” with a size of 0.3 and an interval of 0.1.

FIG. 4C shows an example of the description by the graphic code. Similar to L100, L103 specifies the line color, and here, Red is specified. Next, L10
Reference numeral 4 designates to draw a line, and the first and second parameters are the start coordinate of the line, and the third and fourth parameters are the end coordinate, respectively, and the X and Y coordinates. The fifth parameter indicates the line thickness.

FIG. 4D shows an example of description by raster image data. L105 is the variable image for the raster image.
It is assigned to 1. Here, the first parameter represents the image type of the raster image and the number of color components, the second parameter represents the number of bits per color component, and the third and fourth parameters are the x and y directions of the raster image. Represents the image size of. The fifth and subsequent parameters are raster image data. The number of raster image data is the product of the number of color components forming one pixel and the image size in the x and y directions. At L105, the RGB image has three color components (Re
d, Green, Blue), the number of raster image data is 3 × 5 × 5 = 75.

FIG. 4 (e) shows one page of FIG.
It shows a state in which the image descriptions of (b), (c), and (d) are interpreted and expanded into raster image data. R10
0, R101, and R102 are respectively shown in FIG.
The PDL data of (c) and (d) is expanded.
These raster image data are actually developed in the full page image memory 10-1 for each RGB color component.
For example, in the portion of R100, all 0s are written in each RGB memory, and in the portion of R101, 255, respectively.
0,0 is written.

P sent from the host computer 2
The DL data is developed into a raster image as described above and written into the image memory 10-1.

In the PDL of this embodiment, a description for describing various modes when printing a print job is also prepared. FIG. 4F is an example of description of various modes. L107 is a 4 in
This is an instruction to print in 1 mode. Similarly, L10
8, L109, and L110 are instructions to print this job in the double-sided mode, the sort mode, and the staple mode, respectively. These modes will be described later.
L111 is an instruction to print four copies of each page included in this job. The 4-in-1 mode will be described later.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a print job. Job A is a print job sent from user a (host computer a),
This is a job composed of three pages 41-3. In the figure, P. 1 means the first page. Similarly, job B is a two-page job for user b, and job C is a one-page job for user a.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the combination of jobs. The additional combined job X is a job in which the job A, the job B, and the job C of FIG. 5 are additionally combined in this order. That is, page 3 of job A is 1 of combined job X
The pages from the third page to the third page, the job B from the fourth page to the fifth page, and the job C from the sixth page.
The inserted and merged job Y is a job in which the job C of FIG. 5 is inserted between the second and third pages of the job A and merged. The merged job Y has a configuration in which another job is inserted into one job, but the invention is not limited to this and includes a case where pages of two or more jobs are randomly nested. The combined job Z is a job obtained by combining job B and job C in FIG. That is, job B
And the first page of job C are overlapped and formed on one sheet of paper.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining continuous printing. FIG. 6A shows a state of continuous printing when jobs are not combined. First, in order to print the job A, the printer is started, and when the preparation is completed, the first page is fed, the image is formed, and then the sheet is ejected. Each page in one job is continuously fed, formed, and discharged by pipeline processing (flow work). That is, the second page is formed and the third page is fed in parallel with ejecting the first page.
When the third page, which is the last page of job A, is ejected, the printer enters stop processing, and stops after the end processing. The job B is printed by restarting the printer after the job A is completely printed.

On the other hand, FIG. 6B shows the continuous printing of the additional combined job X when the jobs are combined. The first three pages of job X (job A) are printed in the same manner as in FIG. 6A, but when they are combined, the next two pages (job B) and the next one page (job C) are printed. ) Is also formed continuously, and the printer does not stop between Job A and Job B and between Job B and Job C. Therefore, as is apparent from FIG. 6, the time required for printing the jobs A, B, and C is significantly shorter when the jobs are combined.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining double-sided printing. FIG. 7A shows a state of double-sided printing when jobs are not combined. First, the first and second pages of job A are formed on the front and back of the first sheet of paper. Next, the third page of job A is formed on the surface of the second sheet of paper, but since job A has only three pages, 2
The back side of the first sheet of paper is left blank and is ejected. Similarly, job B and job C are printed on both sides using one sheet of paper.

On the other hand, FIG. 7B shows a double-sided printing state of the additional combined job X when the jobs are combined. Similar to FIG. 7A, the first two pages of job X are formed on the front and back of the first sheet of paper. Then
The third page of job A, which is the third page of job X, and the job B, which is the fourth page of job X
The first page of is formed on the front and back of the second sheet of paper. Similarly, the second page of job B and the first page of job C are formed on the front and back of the third sheet of paper. Thus, FIG.
In (1), four sheets of paper are required, whereas in FIG. 7 (2), three sheets of paper are sufficient. If jobs A, B, and C were originally created to form one document,
It is not preferable that there is a space between them as in (1).

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining 4 in 1 printing. FIG. 8A shows the state of 4 in 1 printing when jobs are not combined. 4 in 1
The print is a function of reducing and arranging four images on one sheet and printing them side by side. The number of images to be arranged may be 2 or 8 in addition to 4, and these are collectively referred to as Nin1.
It is called the print function. In 4-in-1 printing, first, the first to third pages of job A are formed side by side on the first sheet of paper. Since the job A has only three pages, the fourth area of the first sheet is left blank. Similarly, job B and job C are printed 4 in 1 using one sheet of paper, respectively.

On the other hand, FIG. 8 (2) shows the state of 4-in-1 printing of the additional combined job X when the jobs are combined. Similar to FIG. 8A, the first three pages of job X (job A) are arranged on the first sheet. Next, the first page of job B, which is the fourth page of job X, is arranged in the fourth area on the first sheet. Similarly, the second page of job B and the first page of job C are formed side by side on the second sheet of paper. Thus, in FIG. 8A, although three sheets of paper are required,
In (2), two sheets of paper are enough. Also, for job A,
When B and C are originally created to form one document, it is not preferable that a space be provided between them as shown in FIG. 8 (1).

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining sort printing. FIG. 9A shows a state of sort printing when jobs are not combined. First, two copies of three pages of job A are sorted and printed, and one copy of job A is discharged onto each discharge tray on the staple sort unit 42. The user takes this out and then
Similarly, two pages and two copies of job B and one page and two copies of job C are discharged. If the jobs A, B, and C were originally created to form one document, the user needs to manually rearrange the jobs discharged one by one. This is a large amount of work especially when it is necessary to rearrange each page of each job in a nested state. Further, when performing stapling for each sorted part, it is necessary to manually perform stapling after manually rearranging.

On the other hand, FIG. 9B shows a state of sort printing of the additional combined job X when the jobs are combined. In the same manner as in FIG. 9A, the first three pages and two copies of job X are sorted and printed, and one copy of job A is discharged onto each discharge tray on the staple sort unit. Next, the second copy of job B, which is the fourth and fifth pages of job X, is sorted and printed, and is ejected onto job A. Similarly, two copies of job C are also discharged onto job B, and as a result, six pages of job X are discharged onto each discharge tray one by one. The above is a description of the case of the additional combined job X, but also in the case of the inserted combined job Y, since the sheets are discharged onto the discharge tray in the same combination order, the user does not have to manually rearrange them. When stapling is performed for each sorted part, the stapling unit 43 automatically performs stapling.

Further, although FIG. 9 describes the case of performing the normal sort, the same applies to the case of performing the group sort instead of the normal sort.

In the above, continuous operation print, double-sided print, Nin1 print, sort print, and staple sort print for a combined job have been individually described, but it is not possible to apply these functions in combination to a combined job. Needless to say. For example, a combined job can be printed on both sides while being 4-in-1 and staple-sorted.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining how to combine jobs. The image processing apparatus of the first embodiment holds the job received from the host computer in the spool area 8-1 in the hard disk, and uses two types of queues as the holding locations. As shown in FIG. 10, one is a queue called a print queue. In this queue, jobs are arranged in the order in which they are entered, and printing is executed from the first job. The other is a queue called a hold queue, in which jobs are lined up in the order in which they entered the queue, but jobs in the hold queue are not printed unless the user intentionally moves them to the print queue.

In the image processing apparatus of this embodiment, when sending a print job from the host computer to the image processing apparatus 3, which queue is to be designated is specified. When the jobs are combined in this embodiment, the jobs to be combined are put in the hold queue in advance. In FIG. 10, the jobs A, B, and C in the hold queue are combined jobs. Job combination is described later in JD
L (job Description Language)
e) Instruct by job. JDL is a language that extends PDL, and a JDL job is treated as a kind of PDL job. To combine jobs, the host computer instructs the print queue to print the JDL job including the instruction. When the JDL job reaches the head of the print queue as shown in FIG. 10, the processing of the JDL job is started, the jobs instructed by the JDL job are executed, and the combined job is printed. The JDL job S in FIG. 10 is for instructing the additional combination of the jobs A, B, and C.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of a JDL job. First, "## JDL" in the first line of (1) is for indicating that this job is not a general PDL job but a JDL job. “#J: A + B + C” on the second line of (1) is an instruction to combine jobs A, B, and C in this order. By the way, PD of this embodiment
In L, the line with "#" at the beginning is treated as a comment, so this job is ignored as a PDL job.

Next, the second line in FIG. 11B shows job A.
1st to 2nd pages of Job C, Job A 3
It is an instruction to combine the pages in this order. Next, the second line in FIG. 11 (3) is an instruction to combine and combine job B and job C. Next, 2 in FIG. 11 (4)
The 4th line is the entire job that was merged according to the instructions in the 3rd line.
The instruction is to print in the print mode. Similarly, FIGS. 11 (5), 11 (6), and 11 (7) indicate that the combined job is printed in the double-sided print mode, the sort print mode, and the staple sort print mode, respectively. Finally Figure 11
The second line of (8) is an instruction to print four copies of the combined job. Although each mode has been described individually in FIG. 11, it is possible to specify the modes in combination by arranging the lines specifying the modes. However, in the case of inconsistent modes such as 2in1 and 4in1, the one specified later is valid.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the image processing apparatus 3 of the first embodiment. First, the receiving task receives a print job if there is a request from any of the host computers on the network in S11. Then, in S12, it is determined whether or not the print job is sent by designating the hold queue, and if so, the job is held in the hold queue in S13. On the other hand, when the print queue is designated or not designated, the print queue is held in S14.

On the other hand, the development and print tasks are as shown in FIG.
In S21 of 2, the first job in the print queue is picked up. In S22, it is determined whether or not it is a JDL job by the "## JDL" line at the head. If it is not a JDL job, it is expanded and printed as a normal PDL job in S23. This development and print processing will be described later with reference to FIG. On the other hand, in the case of a JDL job, various modes designated by the line starting with “#M:” in the JDL job are set as the JDL mode in S24. Then S2
In the JDL job in step 5, for example, as shown in FIG.
The pages of each job are rearranged in the order specified by the line starting with "J:". At this time, the jobs are moved from the hold queue and combined. When the job rearrangement is completed, in S26, development and print processing are performed in the same manner as in S23.

FIG. 13 is a detailed flowchart of the expansion and print processing. First, in S31, various modes designated in the PDL job are set as the processing modes of the job. Then, in S32, it is determined whether or not this job is a combined job instructed to be combined by a JDL job, and yes
In this case, in S33, the mode set in S31 is overwritten by the JDL mode set in S24 of FIG. This is a process for prioritizing the various modes specified in the JDL job over the various modes specified in the jobs to be combined in the job combination.
As a result, for example, even if 2 in 1 in job A, 4 in 1 in job B, and normal print in job C are instructed, if 4 in 1 is specified in the JDL job, that will be prioritized and all pages Is printed on 4 in 1.

Next, in S34, the printer 1 is notified of whether the mode is the double-sided mode, the sort mode, or the staple sort mode, in accordance with the designated various modes. Then S35
Then, it is determined whether the 4in1 mode or the composite mode is designated, and if neither is designated, S40
Then, each page is sequentially expanded on the full page image memory, and the expanded image data is sent to the printer 1 for printing. At this time, if the job is a combined job, the pages of the combined job are sequentially sent in the combined order. After printing all the pages, the expansion and print processing ends. On the other hand, in the case of the 4in1 mode in S35, the first page is expanded in the first quarter area on the full-page image memory in S36, and four are arranged in S37, that is, four in the full-page image memory. It is determined whether the area is all good or whether there are remaining pages.
If there are remaining pages and there are not four, S
Returning to step 36, the next page is expanded into the next quarter area on the full page image memory, and the process proceeds to step S37 again. On the other hand, if there are no remaining pages or if there are four pages, the image data on the full page image memory is sent to the printer 1 for printing in step S38. As a result, the 4-in-1 print described with reference to FIG. 8B is obtained. When the printing is completed, it is determined in S39 whether there is a remaining page, and if there is, the process returns to S36, the next page is expanded to the first quarter area on the full page image memory, and the process proceeds to S37 again. . If there are no remaining pages in S39, the page is expanded and the print process is terminated.

On the other hand, in the case of the composite mode in S35, S4
1 to expand the first page on the full page image memory,
In S42, it is determined whether or not there is a page to be combined with the previous page. If it remains, the process returns to S41 to expand the next page on the full page image memory,
The process proceeds to S42 again. In the second and subsequent expansions in S41, the full page image memory is not erased before the expansion, and white data is not written during the expansion. By doing so, portions of data other than white in a plurality of pages are overwritten one after another, and a composite print as described with respect to the composite coalesced job of FIG. 1 can be obtained. S42
If there is no page to be combined in step S43, the image data on the full page image memory is sent to the printer 1 and printed in step S43. When the printing is finished, it is determined in S44 whether there is a remaining page, and if there is, the process returns to S41, the full page image memory is erased, the next page is expanded on the full page image memory, and the process proceeds to S42. Proceed again. If there are no remaining pages in S44, the page is expanded and the print process is ended.

(Second Embodiment) In the second embodiment of the present invention, the JDL job is used to instruct the job combination in the first embodiment. It is configured to be united. The description of the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 14, 15 and 16.

The purpose of the configuration of the second embodiment is to reduce the amount of paper used as much as possible. You don't need the printed paper immediately, but if you want to print it out, you can put together such jobs in 4in.
The amount of paper used is reduced by printing 1st grade.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a queue arranged in the spool area in the second embodiment.
In addition to the hold queue and print queue similar to those in the first embodiment, there is a new queue called a joint queue. In the image processing apparatus of this embodiment, when a print job is sent from the host computer to the image processing apparatus 3, one of the three queues is designated. Jobs in the print queue are automatically printed when they reach the head of the queue. On the other hand, a job put in the hold queue is not printed unless it is moved to the print queue. On the other hand, the job placed in the joint queue is automatically printed alone or in combination with another job when certain conditions are satisfied. When the jobs are combined in this embodiment, the jobs to be combined are placed in the joint queue in this way. FIG. 14 shows how jobs A, C, and D in the joint queue are automatically combined to form a combined job X and are moved to the print queue when a certain condition is satisfied. For the reason described below, job D is decomposed into two jobs D1 and D2, and job D1 is combined with jobs A and C to become job X, but job D2 is returned to the end of the joint queue.
The combined job X is automatically printed when it reaches the head of the print queue.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the image processing apparatus 3 of the second embodiment. The joint task, which is a feature of this embodiment, picks up the first job in the joint queue in S51. In FIG. 14, the job A of the user a is picked up. Next, in S52, another job of the user picked up in S51 is searched from the joint queue.
In FIG. 14, Job C and Job D are found. Then, in S53, when the jobs are combined, it is determined whether there is a page number of one output sheet or more. The number of pages for one sheet of output paper is, for example, 2 in the double-sided mode.
4 in the 4in1 mode, and 8 in the 4in1 double-sided mode. That is, if there is not that number of pages, it means that one output sheet cannot be filled. If there is a page number equal to or larger than one output sheet, the jobs are combined in S55 and are transferred to the print queue to form an image. At this time, the jobs that have been combined and moved to the print queue are deleted from the joint queue. Also, if the number of pages resulting from combining jobs is not a multiple of the number of pages for one output sheet, the half pages are not combined,
The remaining jobs are returned to the end of the joint queue.
For example, in the example of FIG. 14, it is assumed that a combined job is printed in 4 in 1, job A has two pages, and job C has one page.
When the page and job D are two pages, the first page of job A, job C, and job D is combined into job X, while the second page of job D is separated and job D is separated.
Returned to the end of the joint queue as 2. This is a process for printing the paper on which these images are not filled as much as possible.

On the other hand, if there is no page number equal to or more than one output sheet in S53, it is determined in S54 whether or not each job of the users picked up has passed a certain time or more after entering the joint queue. To judge. If there is such a job, all the corresponding jobs are combined in S55, and the jobs are transferred to the print queue to form an image.
At this time, the jobs that have been combined and moved to the print queue are deleted from the joint queue. These processes are
This is to prevent jobs from staying in the joint queue for a long time without being combined. Also, S5
In 4, instead of determining that a certain time or more has elapsed, for example, a determination may be made based on whether or not the job has entered the joint queue before yesterday. Also, when the capacity of the hard disk falls below a certain amount, the oldest may be printed and deleted.

On the other hand, in S54, if there is no job that has passed a predetermined time or more, or if the movement to the print queue is completed in S55, the next job in the joint queue is picked up in S56, and the process returns to S52. In FIG. 14, the job B of the user b is picked up.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the print format of the combined job in this embodiment. In the case of the present embodiment, the jobs in the joint queue are automatically combined, so that there is no mode designation by the JDL job as in the first embodiment. For this reason, the format of the merged job is fixed, and in this embodiment, 4i as shown in FIG.
The mode is fixed to n1 mode, single-sided, one copy, no sorting, and no stapling. Even if various modes are specified in each job to be combined, they are ignored in the case of a combined job. Since the jobs in the joint queue are automatically combined, the user name and the date of printing are added to the header of each printed sheet to clarify who and which job was printed. be written.
Further, at the top of each page arranged in 4 in 1, it is described which page of which job it is. Further, in order to clarify the boundaries of each job, the boundaries of the jobs are separated by thick lines.

(Third Embodiment) The third embodiment of the present invention is as follows.
In the first embodiment, the JDL job is used in the image processing apparatus 3 to instruct the job combination.
The operation unit is used to instruct to combine jobs. Further, in addition to the original print job as the job to be combined, the image data read by the image reading unit of the color copying machine, which is the image forming apparatus 1, is regarded as a kind of print and job, and it is also combined. It is composed. The description of the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 17, 18, 19, and 20.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an image forming system composed of an image processing apparatus 3 and an image forming apparatus 1 compatible with color PDL in the third embodiment of the present invention.

The PDL data sent from the host computer via the network 4 is expanded into raster image data in the image processing apparatus 3 and the raster image data 12
Is sent to the image forming apparatus 1. Raster image data is composed of 8 bits for each RGB, 24 bits in total. The sent raster image data 12 is held in the spool hard disk 56 as a raster image via the external interface circuit 51. The spool hard disk 56 has a sufficient capacity to hold a plurality of pages of raster image data. The spooled raster image data is read out under a certain condition and written in the image memory 58. The RGB image data written in the image memory 58 is read out, converted into CMYK image data by the image processing unit 33, and sent to the image forming unit 60 to form an image.

The image reading section 32 is for reading an original and obtaining RGB data, as described with reference to FIG. When the image forming apparatus 1 operates as a copying machine, the RGB image data read by the image reading unit 32 is once stored in the spool hard disk 56, then transferred to the image memory 58, read out, and printed. It

The control unit 52 controls the entire image forming apparatus 1. In addition to the communication with the image processing apparatus 3, the DF (automatic document feeder) 31, the staple sorter unit 42, etc. described with reference to FIG. Also controls. The operation unit 54 is for instructing various mode settings and copying start at the time of copying, and is also for instructing job combination as described later. Reference numeral 61 is a CPU bus connecting these.

FIG. 18 shows a spool hard disk 56.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement status of each job in FIG. In the case of the present embodiment, two types of queues, a print queue and a hold queue, exist in the spool hard disk 56. The meanings of these queues are the same as those in the first embodiment except that the print jobs existing in the queues are composed of raster images. However, in these queues, in addition to the original print job sent from the host computer via the image processing apparatus, a job as a copying machine that prints the image read by the image reading unit (copy job ) Is mixed.

In FIG. 18, first, in the hold queue, in addition to the original print jobs, job A, job B, and job D, job S1 which is image data read from a scanner, which is a print job as a copying machine, is displayed. Mixed. Further, a job DFn indicating each original placed on the DF (automatic original feeder) 31 virtually stays in the hold queue. The n of DFn indicates the nth original placed on the DF. The job DFn does not have image data as a substance, but indicates the image data that would be obtained by reading the nth original document on the DF.

On the other hand, in the print queue, in addition to job C, which is the original print job, jobs S2 and S3, which are copy jobs, coexist, and the jobs at the head of this queue are moved to the image memory 58 and sequentially. Printed. In the present embodiment, the print job and the copy job are printed with the same priority, but since the copy job or the immediacy is required rather than the print job, the copy job is preferentially printed. May I.

In this embodiment, the jobs to be combined are placed in the hold queue. Jobs in the hold queue are selected and combined, and the combined job is moved to the print queue, and when it reaches its head, it is printed. In FIG. 18, jobs A, B, S1, DF1, DF2
Are combined and the combined job X is transferred to the print queue. That is, the job A sent from the computer, the job S1 which is a copy job read from the scanner,
Jobs DF1 and 2 on DF that point to the first original on DF
DF2, which indicates the second original, and job B sent from the computer are combined in this order, transferred to the print queue, and printed. In this way, by combining and printing the original print job and the print job that is a copy job, as described in the first embodiment, it is possible to print these in continuous operation,
Also, both can be mixed to perform 4-in-1 printing, double-sided printing, and the like.

In this embodiment, the job joint is performed by the operator using the operation unit 54 of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 19 shows a message displayed on a liquid crystal display panel (not shown) on the operation unit 54. Touch keys are arranged on the liquid crystal display panel. When a job combination key (not shown) on the operation unit is pressed, the screen of FIG. 19 (1) is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel. FIG.
The upper part of (1) is a message instructing the operation method, and the list of jobs in the hold queue is displayed at the lower part. When the numbers of the jobs to be joined are input with the ten keys and the OK key on the panel is pressed, the numbers of the jobs instructed to be combined are displayed in the middle of FIG.
When the instruction is completed, press the end key.

On the other hand, when setting various modes applied to the combined job, the mode setting key on the screen of FIG. 19 (1) is pressed. Then, the screen changes as shown in Fig. 19 (2), move the cursor up and down keys (not shown) to select the mode to set, enter numbers with the numeric keypad for the top two modes, and for the bottom four modes Use the left and right keys (not shown) to switch between on and off. The up and down keys are
Although not shown, a zoom key or an arrow key which is a density key provided on an operation panel for copying or the like may be used. FIG.
There are 6 modes that can be set in 9 (2). From the top, the number of prints of the combined job, the numerical value of N when performing the Nin1 mode, whether to perform double-sided printing, whether to perform sort printing, and spool printing. Whether or not to perform composite printing can be instructed. Nin
When 1 is input to N in 1 mode, normal printing is performed in which 1 page is printed on 1 sheet.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the image forming apparatus 1 of the third embodiment. First, the reception task starts reception if there is a print job from the image processing device 3 in S61. Then, S62
Then, it is determined whether or not the print job specifies the hold queue, and if so, it is held in the hold queue in S63, and if not, it is held in the print queue in S64.

Next, the print task picks up the first job in the print queue in S81, sequentially moves each page included in the job to the image memory 58 and prints it, and then returns to S81.

Next, a coalescing process execution task that is activated when a job coalescing key (not shown) on the operation unit is pressed will be described. In the uniting process execution task, first, in S71, the screen of FIG. 19 is displayed on the liquid crystal panel of the operating unit, and a uniting instruction from the operating unit is accepted. Then, when the end key is pressed, it is determined in S72 whether the combined job includes a DF job, that is, the job DFn. Job DFn
If it includes, the DF is controlled in S73, the originals on the DF are sequentially read, and the actual state of the read image data is held in the hold queue. After this, DF
Jobs can be treated the same as copy jobs.

Next, in S74, the combined job is Nin1.
Whether to print in the mode is determined, and in the case of the Nin1 mode, the raster image data forming each page is reduced to 1 / N in S75. For example, in 4in1 mode,
The image is reduced to half in the vertical direction and half in the horizontal direction, and the area is 4
Reduce to one-half.

Next, in S76, it is determined whether or not the jobs are to be combined and combined. If they are combined and combined, the printing is performed with the combining process in S77. In step S77, specifically, the pages to be combined are sequentially overwritten on the image memory 58 to be combined. When the images of the second and subsequent pages are overwritten in the image memory, white data is not written. As a result, an image in which the images other than the white data of the pages included in the combined job are overlapped is created on the image memory 58. When the overwriting of all the jobs to be combined and combined is completed, the image data in the image memory 58 is sent to the image forming unit to form an image.

On the other hand, if it is not a combined job, S7
The pages in the jobs combined in step 8 are sequentially printed. Specifically, the image data corresponding to each page is written in the image memory 58, read out, and sent to the image forming unit to form an image. In the case of Nin1 printing, a corresponding N page image is written in each of N areas on the image memory 58, and then printed. Prior to this printing, the image forming unit 60 is notified of the duplex mode, the sort mode, the staple mode, and the number of copies set on the screen of FIG. 19B, and the combined job is printed in the notified mode.

(Fourth Embodiment) The fourth embodiment of the present invention is as follows.
In the first and second embodiments, when a PDL job is rasterized into a raster image and sent to the printer, the jobs are merged. In the third embodiment, the rasterized images are rasterized and then the jobs are merged. On the other hand, the job is combined at the PDL level. Further, in the first embodiment, a JDL job is used to instruct the job combination, in the second embodiment, the job is automatically combined, and in the third embodiment, the operation unit of the image forming apparatus is used to instruct. On the other hand, the operation unit of the image processing apparatus 3 is used to give an instruction. Description of parts similar to those of the first embodiment will be omitted, and only parts different from those of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a queue arranged in the spool area in the image processing apparatus 3 in the fourth embodiment. There are hold queues and print queues as in the first embodiment, and their meanings are the same as in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the jobs to be combined are put in the hold queue, and the jobs are combined according to an instruction using the operation unit in the image processing apparatus 3. FIG. 21 shows how jobs A, C, and D are combined, and combined job X is moved to the print queue. In the first embodiment, J
When the DL job comes to the head of the print queue, the jobs are merged as the pages are expanded and printed. In this embodiment, the merge process is immediately performed if there is a merge instruction from the operation unit. And the merged job is moved to the end of the print queue. In this merge processing, PDL data of a plurality of jobs to be merged is sequentially merged into one PD.
This is done by generating L data. The generated P
DL data is treated as a united job.

FIG. 22 (1) is a screen for instructing to combine jobs, which is displayed on the operation unit in the image processing apparatus 3. The operator inputs the number of the job to be combined with the ten keys and presses OK. When a job is selected as a combined job and a PIN is set for the job, the screen shown in FIG.
Instead of (2), the secret code of the job is requested.
This is a mechanism for not arbitrarily combining the jobs of other users. In this embodiment, the personal identification number is specified for each job, and when protection by the personal identification number is required, it is sent from the host computer together with the print job. However, this is specified for each user,
A method of pre-registering the personal identification number of each user in the image processing apparatus 3 may be adopted.

(Fifth Embodiment) The fifth embodiment of the present invention is as follows.
In the first embodiment, jobs are explicitly combined, and continuous printing, double-sided printing, 4in1 printing, sort printing, etc., are automatically and virtually combined.
It is configured to perform only continuous printing. The description of the same parts as those of the first embodiment is omitted, and
Only the parts different from the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24.

The purpose of the configuration of the fifth embodiment is to enable continuous printing by virtually combining jobs, and to shorten the processing time for the entire plurality of jobs as described with reference to FIG. In addition, the explicit union prevents the processing result of each job from being affected. In other words, the print results are not different between when the jobs are not combined and when the jobs are combined.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a queue arranged in the spool area in the fifth embodiment.
A hold queue may be provided as in the first embodiment, but in the present embodiment, virtual merging of jobs is performed for the jobs in the print queue. The print queue in FIG. 23 contains five print jobs. Each job has different print modes such as the size of paper to be printed, single-sided / double-sided, and sort / non-sort. In the first, third, and fourth embodiments and the like, when the jobs are combined, the jobs specified by the user are combined.
Whether or not print jobs with different print modes are combined is up to the user, and usually print jobs with the same print mode are combined. Further, even when print jobs having different print modes are combined, the print mode applied to the combined job can be designated. For example, in the case of JDL, the print mode could be adjusted using the JDL mode applied to the entire job. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, since the jobs are automatically combined, the print mode of the combined job is unconditionally fixed to a specific mode. In this way, when the print mode is changed, the processing result of the original print job will be different, so in this embodiment, in order to avoid this, only jobs that can be continuously printed without changing the print mode are automatically selected. And perform continuous printing. In what kind of combination of jobs, whether or not continuous printing can be performed without changing the print mode depends on the configuration of the printer, but in the case of the present embodiment, the size of the paper to be printed and the single-sided / double-sided mode are In the same case, continuous printing is possible only in the case of non-sort. This is because if the size of the paper is different, it is necessary to change the paper feed cassette during continuous printing, and the discharge destination trays for double-sided printing and single-sided printing are different, which complicates control. Further, when the sort jobs are automatically combined, they are mixed on the paper discharge tray as shown in FIG. 9, so that the user has to manually separate them. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 23, the job A and the job E are a combination of jobs that can be continuously printed without changing the print mode.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the image processing apparatus 3 of the fifth embodiment. This flowchart corresponds to the development and print tasks in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. In the development and print tasks of the fifth embodiment, first, S91
Use to pick up the first job in the print queue. In the example of FIG. 23, the job A is picked up. Next, in step S92, the print queue is searched for a job that can be virtually combined with the job. A job that can be virtually combined means a job that can be continuously printed without changing the print mode as described above, and job E can be found in the example of FIG. Then, in S93, the printer is notified of the print modes of the virtually combined job. FIG.
In the example of No. 4, the modes of A4, single-sided, and non-sort are notified.

Then, in S94, the virtually combined jobs A and E are continuously printed as described with reference to FIG.

In the case of the printer used in the present embodiment, it is possible to virtually combine "when the size of the paper to be printed and the one-sided / two-sided mode are the same and non-sorted", but the paper feed cassette is in continuous operation. If you use a printer that can switch between the two, you can virtually combine them in the case of "one-sided / two-sided mode is the same and non-sorted".
This is one embodiment. In this case, in the example of FIG. 23, jobs A, B, and E are virtually combined and continuous printing is possible.
Further, the same applies to single-sided / double-sided, and when a printer that switches the discharge destination tray during continuous operation is used, virtual combination is possible even if this mode is different, which is also one embodiment. Further, regarding sorting, when the discharge destination tray at the time of non-sorting and the discharge destination tray at the time of sorting are different, it is possible to virtually combine a plurality of non-sort jobs and one sort job, and this is also one. This is an example. If the number of output trays at the time of sorting is sufficient, multiple sort jobs are virtually combined, and control is performed so that the output tray groups are divided for each job. It is also possible to configure so that they do not coexist between each other, which is also an example.

(Other Embodiments) In the above embodiments, the image data received from the host computer is received in the PDL data format. This format has a feature that character data, graphic data, and raster image data can be handled in a unified manner. However, instead of this PDL data,
The case where only the raster image data is received and written in the image memory is also one embodiment. In this case, since complicated expansion processing is not performed, the CPU, ROM,
There is no need to use a high-speed RAM or the like, and the price can be reduced.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the raster image data is expanded as it is on the image memory or is retained in the spool hard disk. This has the feature that the hardware structure can be simplified. However, instead of decompressing it as it is, some compression may be applied and held in the image memory or the spool hard disk.
This is one embodiment. In this case, the hardware structure is complicated, but the memory amount can be reduced.

In each of the above embodiments, image data such as PDL data is received by communication from an external host computer or the like. However, when the image data is read from an internal floppy disk, one image data is also read. This is an example. Further, a hard disk or the like may be used instead of the floppy disk, and PDL data created by an application program (not shown) may be delivered on the main memory.

In each of the above embodiments, the image forming apparatus 1 is separated from the image processing apparatus 3, but it may be integrated.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a situation in which the program according to the present case is installed in a server provided on the network via a storage medium.
At least an index and programs related to the above-mentioned reception task, expansion print task, and joint task are stored.

When the functions of the image processing apparatus in this embodiment are performed by a host computer such as a server provided on the network, the functions are performed by an FD, a CD-ROM, a flash memory or the like as shown in FIG. The present invention can be applied even when the information group including the program is loaded to the host computer, the image forming apparatus, or the image processing apparatus by the memory or the network via the network.

As described above, the jobs can be combined, and in the case of conflict, the job specified later can be validated.

As described above, when the jobs are combined, it is determined whether or not the number of pages of one output sheet or more is present. When the number of pages is one or more, the jobs can be combined.

As described above, it is possible to give an instruction to combine jobs by using the operation panel on the printer side.

As described above, it is possible to provide the storage medium in which the tasks for combining jobs are stored.

Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is implemented by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, the storage medium storing the program according to the present invention constitutes the present invention. Then, by reading the program from the storage medium into the system or device, the system or device operates in a predetermined manner.

[0096]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an image processing control apparatus and an image processing control method in which various processes applied to each job can be applied to all of a plurality of print jobs by combining a plurality of print jobs into one job. The effect is that you can do it.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a job combination.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining PDL.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a job.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining continuous printing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining double-sided printing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining 4 in 1 printing.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining sort printing.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a queue in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating JDL.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart (1) of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart (2) of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a queue in the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a print format diagram according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an image processing apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of a queue in the third embodiment.

FIG. 19 is an operation screen diagram according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a configuration diagram of a queue in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is an operation screen diagram according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a configuration diagram of a queue in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of the image processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram when a program is supplied to the device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5, 6 Receiving Means 8-1 Spooling Means 6, 10-1 Coalescing Means 6, 9, 10-1, 11 Printer Control Means

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A receiving unit that receives a print job, a spooling unit that holds the received print job, a job combining unit that combines a plurality of print jobs in the spooling unit into one print job, and a combined print An image processing control apparatus, comprising: a transfer unit that transfers a job to a printer side. 2. The printer has a double-sided printing function, and the job uniting means unites the jobs so that pages included in different jobs can be printed on both sides of one sheet. The image processing control device according to claim 1. 3. The job merging means merges jobs so that pages included in different jobs can be printed Nin1 in which N pages of images are printed side by side on a sheet of paper. 1 and 2 image processing control device. 4. The printer has a sort print function for printing a job of a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies for each copy or for each page, and the job combination means regards the combined jobs as one job. 4. The image processing control device according to claim 1, wherein the jobs are combined so that they can be sorted and printed. 5. The printer has a sort staple printing function of performing staple for each sorted paper after sort printing, and the job combining unit is configured to enable the combined staple job to perform the sort staple printing as one job. 5. The image processing control device according to claim 1, wherein the jobs are combined. 6. The printer has a continuous print function for printing different pages of one job in a continuous operation,
6. The image processing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job combination unit combines the jobs so that the combined jobs can be printed as a single job in a continuous operation. 7. The job merging means merges jobs so that pages included in different jobs can be compositely printed on a single sheet in a multiplexed manner. Image processing control device. 8. The job merging means merges jobs so that pages included in another job can be inserted between a plurality of pages included in one job. 6. Image processing control device 6. 9. The image processing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job combination unit combines only jobs of the same user. 10. The image processing according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit includes a unit that receives an instruction as to whether or not the job is a combination job at the time of reception, and combines only the job for which the combination job is instructed. Control device. 11. The print job is described in a page description language, the job coalescing means performs job coalescing at a page description language level, and outputs the coalesced job as a job described in the page description language. The image processing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10. 12. An image memory means, a developing means for developing image data for each page included in each print job on the image memory, and a developed data sending means for sending the developed image data to an external printer. 11. The image processing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job combination unit combines jobs when developing image data on an image memory and sending the image data to a printer during printing. 13. An image reading unit is provided, and the job combination unit regards the image data read by the image reading unit as a kind of print job to combine the jobs. Image processing control device. 14. A process for accepting a print job, a spooling process for holding the accepted print job, and a plurality of print jobs being spooled are combined into one.
An image processing control method, comprising: a job combining step of forming one print job; and a step of transferring the combined print job to a printer side. 15. The print job is described in a page description language, the jobs are combined at a page description language level, and the combined job is transferred to the printer side as a job described in the page description language. The image processing control method according to claim 13, characterized in that 16. The image processing control device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing control device is a server on a network.